Eulogy for Buddy the Dog

Buddy was 15 years old. His hearing and vision were questionable, and his hips were going bad. On a few occasions, he would pant because of the pain, but most of the time, he would look at you with his big, brown eyes and will you to pet him. (I think he was not-so-secretly trying to get you to give him a cookie, but we wouldn’t most of the time because we didn’t want him to gain any more weight.)

Buddy brought much needed love and companionship to my mom and dad. He would bark at the people walking outside on the sidewalk across from the sun room. He would bark at the delivery trucks that delivered packages, and he would bark after going outside and doing his business to get a cookie. (He would get a cookie.) Buddy would also sit in my parents laps at night while they watched TV and when he had fallen asleep, he would get moved his blanket on the couch.

On Independence Day, Buddy was hit by a truck outside our home. The driver came around our blind curve and caught Buddy’s head under his tire. My dad saw the accident. My mom was there, too. They petted Buddy, were able to show there love to him and to say goodbye. His tail wagged until the very end when he went to sleep for the last time.

There is nothing we can do about past events. We can’t change what has happened, and Buddy’s death was inevitable. While that may be small comfort for losing someone we loved, we can do something to honor Buddy’s memory. Buddy never bit anyone. All he wanted was to be near his family, to be noticed and loved and to get a cookie. He was a happy dog even while he was in pain, and he reminds us that anyone can leave this life without any warning. We need to make sure that our loved ones know that we love them. And maybe, just maybe, Buddy gave his family a gift before his life was over. That wagging tail showed that he was headed to a better place – a place where he could have all the cookies.